Whenever possible, all of the games scheduled for Sunday and Monday night that week will be included in the contest. NOTE: Any game played earlier than Sunday; i.e., on Thursday or Saturday - will not be included, except in years when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday and most of the games are played on Saturday, December 24 instead.

The first line for each game posted at the ScoresAndOdds.com web site after both teams had played their previous week's games will form the basis for the picks. On occasion this service will keep a game off the board initially - generally due to injuries etc. When this arises, a line from an alternate source may be used instead; this will be noted in the thread that starts that week's contest. Rarely, even the latter will not be available until very late in the week, in which event the game in question will be omitted from the contest due to time constraints.

In addition, each poster is required to designate three picks as Best Bets, which will be used to break ties between those who have the same overall spread records for the week. Pushes count as ties (half a win, half a loss) in determining both the overall and Best Bet records.

There will be five tie-breaker games per week, to be selected using the following steps, in order, until all five games have been successfully identified:

1. Games carried nationally by ESPN (usually Monday night).

2. Games carried nationally by NBC (usually Sunday night).

(If more than one game in the same week fits into the same of either of the above categories, the provisions of #3 below shall be used to determine priority therein).

3. Games, other than above, matching up the teams with the highest combined standing going into that week, each team being ranked from 1 to 32 pursuant to the procedure the NFL uses in its waiver system. The rank numbers of both opposing teams are added together, with priority given to the best combined ranking; as between games with the same combined ranking, the game whose teams have the best combined won-lost percentage shall have preference, and, if a tie still exists, the game whose lower-rated team is ranked higher shall have preference. For the first three weeks of the season, the previous year's draft order, in reverse, is used; thereafter the rankings are derived from the current season's records, subject to official tie-breakers. If two or more teams remain tied in the overall league standings after all tie-breakers have been exhausted, the average of the rankings tied for shall be observed as the rank number for all such teams; e.g., two teams that tie for 13th-14th are both counted as "13.5;" all three teams that tie for 24th-25th-26th are counted as "25."

NOTE: If a game is omitted from that week's contest due to no line having been released on it until too late in the week and it would have qualified as a tie-breaker game, the next game in the order of preference pursuant to the above rules will take its place.

In Week 17, the provisions of #3 above shall be superseded by the games that have the greatest impact upon the playoff scenarios. Specifically, priority will be given to games that have playoff implications for both teams; if there be not enough such games to bring the total number of tie-breaker games to five, next priority is given to games that have playoff implications for one team.

"Playoff implications" are defined in this order:

(a). A team may or may not make the playoffs, depending on the result of their game alone, or their game in combination with another or other games.

(b). A team has clinched a playoff spot but may or may not win a division title, depending on the result of their game alone, or their game in combination with another or other games.

(c). A team has clinched a division title but may or may not earn a first-round bye, depending on the result of their game alone, or their game in combination with another or other games.

(d). A team has clinched a first-round bye but may or may not earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs in their conference, depending on the result of their game alone, or their game in combination with another or other games.

In all cases, the situation that pertains before the first game to be played that week shall apply, even if the result of an early game alters the scenario for a team playing later that week.

The order of priority listed above will be used to identify the necessary tie-breaker games; in the event that more games than are necessary meet the criteria, either for both teams or one team, within each segment, the order shall be used to determine which games qualify. If there be not enough games that even have playoff implications for one team to bring the total number of tie-breaker games to five, the provisions outlined in #3 above shall be used to identify the remaining games, except that any game involving a team that has already clinched their specific playoff seed in their conference will not be considered.

There are no limits - minimum or maximum - on the number of tie-breaker games that need to be included among each picker's Best Bets; if the tied pickers had the same overall record in the five tie-breaker games, the one with the best won-lost percentage in tie-breaker games designated as Best Bets will finish higher. (Example: Only one of A's three Best Bets was used in a tie-breaker game and the team so used covers, while B uses all three Best Bets in tie-breaker games and two of them cover; in that case A wins the tie-breaker because 1-0 is a better won-lost percentage than 2-1).

If a picker uses no Best Bets in any of the tie-breaker games, the resulting 0-0 record is treated as a .500 won-lost percentage; i.e., it neither outranks nor is outranked by another picker who goes 1-1. As between pickers with no losses, a 2-0 record does outrank a 1-0 record, etc., and as between those with no wins 0-1 is considered superior to 0-2, etc.

If a tie still exists after the aforementioned steps have been applied, the following procedure shall be observed until a higher finisher has been determined:

Every game played that week will be ranked using the same criteria used to identify the tie-breaker games outlined in Section III above. The tied pickers' selections for the first game (the Monday night game in all weeks except Week 17) will be compared, and if one of the selections covered while the other(s) did not, the correct selection in this game will decide the tie-breaker. If the tied pickers selected the same team in this game, or the game ended in a push against the spread, the second game in the sequence shall be used, followed by the third, etc., until the tie is broken.

If a resolution has still not been reached after going through all of the games - that is to say, the tied pickers selected the same team in every game - the Best Bets will be used to decide the outcome, with the first unmatched winning Best Bet in the sequence deciding the outcome in that picker's favor, or the first unmatched losing Best Bet eliminating that picker (an unmatched Best Bet that pushed against the spread having no effect).

Any ties that may exist after all of the foregoing steps have been applied are not broken, and the result is a dead heat, with the tied pickers equally dividing the sum of the scores awarded to the places tied for (this can only arise if at least one game that week ended in a push against the spread).

In no case will two pickers be permitted to select both all of the same teams overall and all of the same Best Bets in a particular week. If this occurs, the picker who posted the selections last will be asked (via private message) to make at least one change, in either an overall selection or a Best Bet.

The complete order of priority for the upcoming week's games shall be posted in Section VIII below, and updated weekly.

NOTE: The maximum number of pickers in any one week is sixteen (16). Once 16 pickers have made selections, the thread will be locked and no further picks will be accepted.

As an aid to pickers, each post bearing picks will be numbered, by means of a large, colored number being added at the top of the post, so that the number of pickers in that week can be determined at a glance.

Picks must be made by the kickoff of Sunday's early-time-slot games (1:00 PM ET); any picks posted after that time are void and the poster cannot earn any points for that week.

Any unpicked game (except for a game that was omitted from the contest due to no line being issued on it) counts as an automatic loss, even if the game ends in a push against the spread. A picker who left any game(s) unpicked in the original post will be requested (via private message) to add a selection(s) on such game(s); however, the Contest Administrator assumes no obligation to detect every single such instance, particularly in the case of picks posted very late in the week.

Picks submitted without Best Bets will be honored, but in case of ties such poster will be deemed to have finished in the lowest of the places tied for. In the case of fewer than three Best Bets being submitted, the omitted Best Bet(s) is treated as an automatic loss(es) for tie-breaking purposes. If more than three Best Bets are posted, the Best Bet record for tie-breaking purposes shall be the worst possible combination, out of three, that can be derived from the teams selected. In either event, the poster will be informed of the situation (via private message) and given the opportunity to add or delete a Best Bet(s), as applicable.

Under no circumstances can any pick (including a Best Bet) be changed once the post containing it has been issued an identifying number, except in the case of two pickers having selected both all of the same teams and all of the same Best Bets, in which event the last such poster will be requested (via private message) to make at least one such change. Failure to do so will result in the last such poster automatically losing the tie-breaker to the picker who posted the same selections first.